Knock-off Painkillers: A drink for sailors and landlubbers

LUCY BURDETTE: Following up on the question last week about how we feel about water...I always think the idea of a vacation on a boat sounds amazing. So a couple of years ago John and I went on a sailing vacation with my sister and her husband. This was a frugal do-it-yourself trip; we brought our own groceries and did the sailing ourselves.
 

Ha, ha, just kidding, that wasn't our boat, it's one of the abandoned liveaboards anchored off Key West that I used in MURDER WITH GANACHE. 

I freely admit that I'm not much of a sailor, acting mostly as ballast. As we set off that first morning, I had great expectations. The scenery couldn't have been more gorgeous. The company was outstanding. 

However, I was not cautious enough about my tendency to seasickness--even on calm seas. I will spare you the gory details, except to tell you that at the end of the first day I was happy to swim ashore and crawl onto a small island away from the water. With my head pounding and my world swirling, I did not even notice until an hour later that SOMETHING SMELLED TERRIBLE. When I finally sat up, I saw that I was lying in close proximity to a dead goat...

Feeling so much better--with John!

Sue and Jeff--the real sailors

After some time on dry land and much Dramamine, I recovered and enjoyed the rest of the trip. The fish were amazing--including barracudas, big sea turtles, a dancing line of squid who were as curious about us as we were about them. 

One of our favorite ways of celebrating the end of a day on the water was to go ashore and enjoy an island cocktail called a Painkiller. You do not need to wait for a sailing vacation to try this--it would work very well over the holiday weekend.

 
Knockoff Painkiller cocktail

4 ounces pineapple coconut juice (Knudsen for me)
2 ounces orange juice
1 to 2 ounces Pusser's or other dark rum
Sprinkling of fresh nutmeg 




Combine the liquids in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Stir well, then pour into glass filled with ice and garnish with a sprinkle of nutmeg. This is definitely tasty enough to serve without the rum too, if you prefer. (KILLER TAKEOUT is not in the glamour shot above, but the painkiller played an important role in that mystery.)

What will you be drinking over this long weekend? Care to share the recipe?

Summer Cocktails

BREAKING REDS NEWS! 

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN NOMINATED FOR 2015 MACAVITY AWARD! 

RHYS BOWEN NOMINATED FOR 2015 BRUCE ALEXANDER HISTORICAL 

FICTION AWARD!

CONGRATULATIONS, HANK AND RHYS!

Julie Reiner

SUSAN ELIA MACNEAL: One of the best things about living in New York are the great restaurants and bars. Julie Reiner's iconic saloons serving craft cocktails — Flatiron Lounge, Pegu Club, Clover Club, and newest venture, Leyenda are some of Noel's and my favorite places for date night. The drinks are amazing, the food is wonderful, the atmosphere is celebratory, and, best of all, even though they're sort of glam — the vibe is neighborly.

In case you can't get to New York, the good news is cocktail doyenne Julie Reiner has a new book out: The Craft Cocktail Party: Delicious Drinks for Every Occasion (Grand Central Publishing).


Yes, readers, I couldn't resist getting it... (I'm a bit of a Julie fangirl — love seeing women chefs and business owners succeed.) 


The CRAFT COCKTAIL PARTY gives cocktail basics and keeps thing simple for the home cook. (Yay!) The recipes are organized into the four seasons—not surprising, given that Reiner's inspired by seasonal ingredients. As she writes: 

At the season's height, when every stand at the farmers’ market sags under the weight of pristine berries, plump tomatoes, and bunches of fragrant herbs, my bar starts to resemble a garden. I generally divide my market haul into two piles: one for muddling into drinks and one for making infusions and syrups. When certain fruits, like raspberries, are gently heated in sugar, the resulting syrup can be even more robust in flavor than the fruit itself.


I haven't tried all the recipes in "Summer" yet (give me time—it's only June...), but I do think I've found one for our summer house cocktail.


Here's the recipe for Ginger-Mint Lemonade — perfect for summer and can be made with or without alcohol.


GINGER-MINT LEMONADE 

The ginger syrup in this drink is the real star. It’s so good, in fact, that you could leave the booze out entirely for an undeniably delicious mocktail. 

8 mint leaves 
¾ ounce ginger syrup 
2 ounces citrus vodka or gin (I recommend Ketel One Citroen or Tanqueray No. Ten) 
¾ ounce lemon juice 
1 ½ ounces water 
Garnish / Mint sprig


GINGER SYRUP

Ginger Syrup Ginger is a very versatile cocktail ingredient. It works with any spirit category and adds spice to your beverage without adding heat. It’s essential to categories of drinks called “mules” and “bucks,” most frequently encountered in the form of the Moscow Mule. The best way to make it is with a juice extractor (used to juice vegetables and noncitrus fruits). If you don’t have one, you can still make ginger juice with a bit of elbow grease: Just grate fresh peeled ginger root with a microplane zester and then squeeze it through a piece of cheesecloth. However, when you’re entertaining or making lots of drinks, it’s perfectly acceptable to buy a bottled ginger juice or syrup. There are quite a few good ones on the market today. I recommend ginger juice from the Ginger People and Hawaiian ginger syrup from Pacifikool, both of which can be found online.

½ cup ginger juice 
1 cup superfine sugar 

Heat the juice in a saucepan over low heat until warm but not boiling. 

Add the sugar and blend with an immersion blender or whisk. 

Let cool, then transfer to a nonreactive metal or glass container with a lid and store in the refrigerator for up to three weeks. 

MAKES ABOUT 1 CUP, enough for about 13 drinks

SUSAN: Reds and lovely readers, what drinks, alcoholic or not, keep you cool in the summer. Please share in the comments! And cheers!

Graduation Weekend Cocktail: Pimm's No. 1 Cup

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: To me, there's only one cocktail for summer events that involve walking about on a manicured lawn in a pretty dress: Pimm's No. 1 Cup. I'm going to quote Britishfood.com here: 

 Pimm's originated in an Oyster Bar in Poultry Street, in the City of London, owned by James Pimm in 1840. Here he created the Pimm's 'house Cup' flavoured with liqueurs, and fruit extracts. He rapidly built up a chain of restaurants in a variety of locations, including The Old Bailey and other places "to be seen" for City businessmen of the day. James Pimm is said to have blended his famous 'No 1 Cup', on the premises and it was then sold in pints in pewter tankards. 

By 1859, Pimm's was on sale outside of the restaurants and in 1865, the company was sold to Frederick Sawyer and the first bottle of Pimm's was sold for 3 shillings. The company was sold on again in 1875, this time to Sir Horatio Davies, who in the following years expanded the sale of the drink. It could be found not only the UK, but also throughout the British Empire and the association of the drink with all things British began. 

 The No 1 cup is as popular today as ever. The first Pimm's bar opened at the world-famous Wimbledon tennis tournament in 1971, and every year over 80,000 pints of Pimm's with Lemonade are sold to spectators. 

How to make this traditional treat? 

1. One part Pimm's No. 1 Cup to three parts lemonade over ice (though I've had some very nice Pimm's where the drink has been shaken with ice and served neat.) 

2. Add fresh mint and thin slices of cucumber. Those are the must-haves; you can also include combinations of orange slices, lemon, apples or strawberries. (See? It's not just drink, it's part of the RDA of fruits and vegetables!) 

3. Be careful not to spill if you wore heels to stand on the lawn. We're going to be looking for Pimm's Cup after the graduation luncheon tomorrow!